This invention relates to holders for flashlights. In particular, it is an improved flashlight holder for use around motor vehicles, furnaces, refrigeration equipment, boats or any structures of iron, steel or other ferromagnetic materials where light is required to do work.
Repair of car, truck or tractor engines, heating or refrigeration machinery, and many similar types of equipment often requires a source of light where the work is being done. This need is often met by a so-called trouble light, which is a shielded screened light bulb and socket that is typically combined with a long extension cord. However, some installations where work needs to be done lack a supply of AC power. Other such installations may present conditions such as the presence of explosive vapors under which a trouble light may present unacceptable hazards. A solution to these problems is supplied by mounting a flashlight in a holder that can be positioned to direct light from the flashlight into an area where light is needed.
An example of such a flashlight holder is given in U.S. Pat. 4,506,317 entitled "Magnetic Support For Flashlight." This is a service light having a magnetic base, a C-shaped resilient clamp support for a flashlight and an arm that is connected by pivots at each end to the clamp and to the magnetic base. The flashlight holder of the '317 patent has several disadvantages that are overcome by the present invention. Among these are the use of a single magnet to attach the flashlight holder to a ferromagnetic material. This is not well adapted for attachment to curved surfaces. A second disadvantage is the existence of a pivot near the magnet at one end of an elongated arm that represents a significant moment arm through which to apply torque to the pivot. A third disadvantage of the teachings of the '317 patent is the use of a relatively large number of parts.
Other patents embodying some of the general principles of the present invention include U.S. Pat. No. 3,917,940 entitled "Magnetic Base Utility Lamp." This is a line-powered light that is mounted through a sequence of pivots to a flat permanent magnet to secure the utility lamp in position at a work place. The apparatus taught by this patent must be connected to the power line to work.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,300,915, entitled "Flashlight Stand or The Like," represents a form of tripod stand for holding a flashlight in a position that is substantially horizontal with respect to a support surface. The components of the '915 patent are all metal, which represents a disadvantage when working around engines that have electrical components or around other equipment containing electrical terminals that may be short-circuited by contact with the metal. The '915 patent is also designed to rest on a horizontal surface, and does not teach any means for attaching or securing the tripod to a surface that is not horizontal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,304, entitled "Attachment For Electric Torches," represents a magnetic mount for a flashlight that clamps to the flashlight to hold it in a position parallel to a steel or other ferromagnetic surface. The flashlight of the '304 patent cannot be placed in any orientation other than parallel to the attaching surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,402,877, entitled "Adjustable Flashlight Holder," is a clamp that is intended to secure a flashlight to the steering column of an automobile or the like to keep the flashlight ready to use. The holder of the '877 patent also has a suction cup for affixing the flashlight holder to a surface when the flashlight is in use, but the teachings of the patent are directed more to storing a flashlight than to holding the flashlight in a working position.
The flashlight holders described in the patents listed above share one or more of several defects that are overcome by the present invention. Some of the holders are made of metal, which may represent a short circuit if it comes in contact with live electrical terminals. Some of the holders apply a relatively large torque about a pivot as a result of the combination of the weight of a flashlight and the length of a moment arm. This requires a relatively large force to lock the pivot against unwanted rotation. Some of the holders that are described include a relatively large number of parts, which leads to manufacturing complexities.